House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday that he expects Congress to expel Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, the Florida Democrat found guilty of 25 ethics violations and facing a federal indictment over allegations she stole $5 million in FEMA disaster funds.
Johnson's remarks mark the clearest signal yet from House leadership that Cherfilus-McCormick's time in Congress is running out. A sanctions hearing is scheduled for April 21. An expulsion resolution has already been filed. And the Speaker, who has insisted on letting the Ethics Committee finish its work before the chamber acts, now says the facts leave little room for debate.
The Hill reported Johnson's comments Tuesday, in which he framed the coming vote as a near-certainty:
"I do think certainly on Cherfilus-McCormick, the Ethics Committee has gone through all of its processes, and they found some alarming facts. I think the facts are indisputable at this point, and so I believe it'll be the consensus of this body that she should be expelled. I mean, that certainly rises to the level that's needed."
Johnson also described himself as "a zealous guardian of due process around here", a nod to criticism from some Republicans who wanted the House to act faster against members under ethical clouds. His position has been consistent: let the Ethics Committee complete its investigation first. That process, by all accounts, is now complete.
Last month, a House Ethics adjudicatory subcommittee announced it had proven 25 of 27 counts of ethics violations against Cherfilus-McCormick. The panel found what Just The News described as "clear and convincing" evidence against her. The committee then scheduled an April 21 hearing to determine appropriate sanctions, a hearing that could formally recommend expulsion.
The violations stem from allegations that Cherfilus-McCormick diverted $5 million from a FEMA-funded COVID-19 contract and laundered the money into her 2021 congressional campaign, the Washington Free Beacon reported. She also faces a separate federal indictment tied to the same alleged scheme. Cherfilus-McCormick has denied any wrongdoing.
Let that sink in. A sitting member of Congress stands accused of stealing disaster relief money, funds meant for Americans hit by emergencies, and funneling it into her own political operation. The Ethics Committee, which includes members of both parties, found the evidence overwhelming on nearly every count.
Rep. Greg Steube, a fellow Florida Republican, has already filed a resolution to expel Cherfilus-McCormick. Fox News reported that Steube plans to move the resolution to the House floor as soon as the Ethics Committee announces its recommended sanction. Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote, meaning some Democratic support would be necessary.
That bipartisan threshold matters. But there are already signs that Democrats may not stand in the way. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Washington state Democrat, told the Free Beacon plainly: "Since she was found guilty, she should resign or be removed."
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, issued a blunt warning to Cherfilus-McCormick on X Tuesday:
"We have your expulsion vote ready to be called up on the 21st. Either resign or be expelled. Those are your two options. So America is tracking: Sheila stole $5 million in FEMA funds."
Luna also said she would "fully be backing" Steube's effort. The message from Florida's Republican delegation is unified and direct.
Cherfilus-McCormick is not the only lawmaker feeling the pressure. On Monday, one day before Johnson's remarks, both Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, announced plans to leave office rather than face expulsion resolutions from their colleagues.
Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, captured the mood on X: "Two down. Two to go."
The "two to go" appears to include Cherfilus-McCormick and potentially Rep. Cory Mills, a Florida Republican who is under a separate Ethics Committee investigation. Mills faces questions about whether he violated campaign finance laws, received special favors in his position, engaged in sexual misconduct, and misused congressional resources. Johnson said Tuesday he would be looking into the status of the Mills investigation.
The fact that the House is pursuing members of both parties deserves notice. Gonzales, a Republican, chose to resign rather than face a vote. Swalwell, a Democrat, did the same. The Ethics Committee's work against Cherfilus-McCormick was bipartisan. And Johnson has applied the same due-process standard regardless of party affiliation. That is how accountability is supposed to work.
The sanctions hearing on April 21 will determine what the Ethics Committee formally recommends. If the panel recommends expulsion, and the 25 proven violations make that outcome likely, Steube's resolution could hit the floor shortly after. A two-thirds vote would remove Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress.
Several questions remain open. The specific details of all 27 counts have not been fully disclosed. The exact date of Cherfilus-McCormick's federal indictment is not clear from available reporting. And the timeline for any criminal trial remains uncertain. But the Ethics Committee's findings alone paint a damning picture: 25 of 27 counts proven, with the underlying allegation involving the theft of millions in taxpayer-funded disaster relief.
Cherfilus-McCormick has denied wrongdoing. She has not, as of Tuesday, announced any plans to resign. Luna's message gave her two options. Johnson's comments suggest the House is preparing to make the choice for her if she won't make it herself.
In the swirl of procedural votes and ethics hearings, it is easy to lose sight of what the underlying allegation actually means. FEMA disaster funds exist for one reason: to help Americans in crisis. If the allegations are true, and a bipartisan committee found the evidence convincing on 25 separate counts, then Cherfilus-McCormick took money meant for people who had lost homes, livelihoods, and safety, and redirected it to win a seat in Congress.
That is not a technicality. That is not a paperwork error. If proven at trial, it represents a betrayal of the public trust at its most basic level, taking from disaster victims to fund personal ambition.
The House has expelled members only a handful of times in its history. The bar is high, and it should be. But when a bipartisan panel finds clear and convincing evidence of 25 ethics violations, and the member faces a federal indictment alleging the theft of $5 million in relief funds, the question is no longer whether the bar has been met. The question is why she's still there.
Congress asks taxpayers to trust it with trillions of dollars every year. The least it can do is show it won't tolerate a member accused of pocketing the money meant for people at their most desperate.